1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a toner collecting and reusing device for use in an image forming apparatus, such as a copier, a facsimile, a printer, and so on. More particularly, this invention relates to a toner collecting and reusing device having an improved efficiency of collecting toner from a cleaning device of the image forming apparatus.
2. Discussion of the Background Art
As described in the Japanese Patent Application Laid Open No. 62-144191, for example, a conventional toner collecting and reusing device for use in an image forming apparatus generally includes a toner collecting path starting from a cleaning device and ending at a developing device of the image forming apparatus. The toner collecting path guides used toner collected by the cleaning device to the developing station so that the used toner may be reused. The conventional toner collecting and reusing device further includes a filter disposed on the toner collecting path, which separates reusable toner from a foreign substance, such as a paper powder, coagulated toner, and so on.
However, a mesh of the filter tends to get clogged with the used toner, because the mesh is generally small enough in size to allow only reusable toner to pass through. In particular, the toner tends to get clogged when a large amount of the used toner is to pass through the filter at once. Thus, the filter can not efficiently separate reusable toner from the foreign substance.